Gentiva to Buy Hospice Company

Tuesday

The $912.3 million acquisition would create the largest U.S. provider of home health and hospice care.

The home health provider Gentiva Health Services said on Monday that it planned to spend nearly $1 billion to buy the hospice company Odyssey HealthCare.

The acquisition would create the nation’s largest provider of home health and hospice care.

Gentiva, based in Atlanta, said it would pay $27 a share in cash for Odyssey stock. Based on Odyssey’s 33.8 million shares outstanding at March 31, the deal is valued at $912.3 million.

The boards of both companies have approved the deal. It is expected to close in the third quarter, pending approval by regulators and Odyssey stockholders.

The companies said the deal would create a hospice care provider with an average daily patient census of about 14,000 and operations in 30 states. They expect the combined company to have more than $1.8 billion in annual revenue. Gentiva expects to raise about $1.1 billion in new debt financing to pay for the deal and to refinance existing debt.

Last week, Gentiva acquired the United Home Care Group, a home health and hospice service company based in Louisiana. Gentiva was one of four home health care providers that received letters from the Senate Finance Committee this month questioning whether the companies increased their patient visits out of medical necessity or to qualify for higher Medicare reimbursements.

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